more than a mom, a superhero of sorts, she spends her days jumping from task to task, able to leap small tantrums in a single bound.

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Mother Goose

Ive come to the conclusion that Mother Goose was an exhausted, fed up mom who decided to write rhymes to scare kids into behaving after all else had failed. Why else would we have a nursery rhyme like the old woman who lived in a shoe?

"There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, she had so many children she didnt know what to do.So she gave them some broth without any bread, then whipped them all soundly and sent them to bed."

Sounds like something only a fed up, tired, cranky mom would resort to writing about. Or how about some of the other nursery rhymes we were taught as children? The other day I popped in a children's cd I'd gotten as a gift and was astonished at some of the songs they were singing! These are the same songs I was taught as a child, and I realize they had no real impact on me, but as I was singing along the other day I got to thinking "What's this got to do with being a kid? This song is a little bit freaky!"

"Three blind mice, see how they run. They all run after the farmer's wife, she cut of their tails with a carving knife, did you ever see such a sight in your life as three blind mice?"

Or the other favorite ...."four and twenty black birds were baked in a pie. when the pie was opened the birds began to sing, "wasnt that a dandy dish to set before the king. .....the maid was in the garden hanging up the clothes, til one little black bird came and nipped off her nose."

These songs are a little graphic for me now that I understand what's going on in the story! I know that many of these old nursery rhymes are from the old days and were passed down over the years to us today and dont quite apply the way they once did. That makes complete sense. Im just not sure I want carry on the tradition! Im not sure I want Luxie thinking about cutting off the tail of a mouse! I think, rather, I will stick to some of my old favorites like "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "Old MacDonald Had a Farm!" You know, the kind of songs you can sing at the dinner table and still feel well enough to finish your meal.

3 Comments:

RING AROUND THE ROSIES POCKET FULL OF POSIESASHES ASHES WE ALL FALL DOWN! (PLAUGE- NICE)

ROCK A BYE BABY IN THE TREE TOPWHEN THE WIND BLOWS THE CRADLE WILL ROCKWHEN THE BOW BREAKS THE CRADLE WILL FALL AND DOWN WILL COME BABY CRADLE AND ALL- What the heck, you are so right. These songs are like demonic or something! Why would i want to sing that to my baby, but those tunes are so darn sticky. I'm glad i didn't live when these were written because their lives must have been awful!